ISSUES

A senior counsel is to examine how allegations of prolonged and serious abuse at a foster home in the South East were investigated by the HSE.

Waterford TD and Dáil Public Accounts Committee vice-chairman, John Deasy said: “A number of people put their careers on the line to bring this out into the open and the very least they deserve is this independent review.

“It’s been difficult to get but at last some of the families who’ve been dealing with this since the early nineties will see someone independently look into how the HSE dealt with this affair.”

It’s alleged that up to 40 children and young adults with severe intellectual disabilities were physically and sexually abused while in a foster setting during the eighties, nineties, and 2000s — and that two separate HSE inquiries into claims made by social care workers as far back as 1992 were inadequate.

The PAC asked the Department of Health to investigate the HSE’s procurement practices in commissioning former staff to conduct independent investigations into the case, which Deputy Deasy described as the worst he’s come across in 16 years as a public representative.

He wants the authority to appoint investigators in future cases taken away from the HSE to guard against a potential conflict of interest.